Human
traffickers in Kosovo convicted with UN help
21 July 2005 – In the severest ever
human trafficking sentence in Kosovo, three Albanian citizens
have been jailed for up to 12 years for luring young women to
the United Nations-administered province with false promises of
legitimate work, only to try to force them into prostitution.
Investigation into the case
involved the joint efforts of the UN Interim Administration Mission
in Kosovo (UNMIK), Kosovo Police officers, the Department of Justice,
the Prizren District Public Prosecutor's office and military police
from KFOR, the multinational security force.
A court panel, composed of two
international and one Kosovan judge, sentenced Vladimir Ukaj and
Robert Sylaj to 12 years each in prison and Sabri Islami to 10
years after they were found guilty of 11 of the 12 charges filed
against them, including trafficking in human beings, rape, facilitation
of prostitution and falsification of documents.
During the investigation
two Albanian female victims, one of them 16 years old, were identified
and rescued by the police. Both had been lured to Kosovo with
false promises of legitimate work, only to find that their supposed
employers were in fact intending to force them into prostitution,
UNMIK said.
UN administrator
reports slowdown in political process in Kosovo
20 July 2005 – There has recently
been a slowdown in the political process of moving ethnically-divided
Kosovo along the road towards determining its final status, the
United Nations administrator of the province said today.
"We have recently seen
a slowdown in the implementation of some of the standards,"
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative Søren
Jessen-Petersen told a news briefing of the eight goals in areas
such as democratic institutions, minority rights and an impartial
legal system, seen as crucial steps in moving towards final status
talks.
The UN has run the province
since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) drove out
Yugoslav troops amid grave human rights abuses in fighting between
majority Albanians and Serbs in 1999.
Speaking to reporters after
conferring in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, with European Union
foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Mr. Jessen-Petersen gave three
reasons for the slowdown.
"One is that we need to
see stronger commitment on the Kosovo Albanian leadership, the
PISG (Provisional Institutions of Self Government), they need
to show even stronger commitment to push forward on returns, on
freedom of movement, and also on decentralization," he said.
The return of Serbs who fled their homes in the province is a
significant issue.
"The second reason for
the slowdown is, as long as Belgrade (Serbia's capital) denies
the Kosovo Serbs the opportunity to be part of the process, there
will be limits to how much progress we can make on returns, on
freedom of movement," he added.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen has repeatedly
urged Serbian leaders in Belgrade to encourage Kosovo Serbs to
participate in the political process in the province where Albanians
outnumber Serbs and other minorities 9 to 1.
The third reason is that, more
and more, issues are now being seen through the prism of status
discussions, he said, as in the case of discussions on decentralisation.
"Clearly, there is a slowdown
and as I say, there is a responsibility on the side of all, including
us, to make sure that progress continues," he added.
Mr. Jessen-Petersen has
previously said the process to decide Kosovo's final status could
begin this year.
Top
of page
New chief for UN internal
oversight officially takes office
20 July 2005 – Hailed by a senior
United Nations official as a remarkable woman of vital integrity,
the world body's new chief watchdog met the press for the first
time in her new capacity today, saying she was pleased to be at
the UN during a time of such far-reaching changes.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's
Chief of Staff, Mark Malloch Brown introduced veteran Swedish
inspector and auditor Inga-Britt Ahlenius as the new Under-Secretary-General
for the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
Previously the former Auditor-General
of Kosovo, she succeeds Dileep Nair, who has been cited for misconduct
by the Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) led by former United
States Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker probing alleged irregularities
in the UN Oil-for-Food programme for Iraq.
OIOS submits reports to the
Secretary-General and the Assembly on protecting the organizations'
assets. It also does worldwide audits of UN operations and provides
consulting services to UN funds, programmes and tribunals.
Ms. Ahlenius was also a member
of the Committee of Independent Experts established by the European
Parliament with a mandate to examine the ways in which the 20-member
Commission detected and dealt with fraud, mismanagement and nepotism.
Its report in 1999 led to the resignation of the entire Commission
and its later reform.
Calling Ms. Ahlenius "a
remarkable woman," of vital integrity, Mr. Malloch Brown
said that she exhibited "exactly the values and priorities
that we want to see in the oversight function here at the United
Nations."
For her part, Ms. Ahlenius said
that she was happy to be at the UN during this time of change.
She had officially only been on the job for three days, but was
already looking into the various recommendations that had emerged
during the Volcker investigation.
When asked by reporters if she
would be more open with the press than her predecessor, she said
that while she had been in regular contact with the media in other
positions she had held, an internal audit, by definition, was
an interior undertaking. Still, she was aware that the Assembly
had asked for more disclosure of reports and would be looking
into the matter.
She added that she had
been in the position to make "tough" decisions regarding
the disciplining of and/or firing of staff. "While no one
enjoys that sort of thing, the hope is that such decisions are
taken with a view to preserving the integrity of your organization,"
she said.
Top
of page
Donor
funding still needed for mine-clearance operations in Kosovo –
UN
19 July 2005 – Six years after the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) drove Yugoslav troops out of Kosovo amid ethnic
fighting between Albanians and Serbs, unexploded mines are still
claiming victims in the United Nations-administered province and
continued donor funding is needed for clearance operations.
Repeating warnings from the
Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) to the public not to go into areas
marked with tape or mine signs or approach suspicious objects,
the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) noted
today that so far this year two people had been killed and seven
seriously injured in such accidents.
Since April when de-mining activities
resumed, over 1,200 mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) have been
located and destroyed, and over 2 million square metres of land
cleared.
Last year, one person was killed
and 13 seriously injured in 11 accidents, over 4,000 items of
mines and UXO were located and destroyed and over 4 million square
metres of land cleared.
Continued donor funding is needed
for the ongoing operations of international non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and training of KPC teams, which together have some 250
people involved in the day-to-day clearance of mines and UXO,
UNMIK said.
The NGOs active in Kosovo
are the Halo Trust, Handicap International and the Mines Awareness
Trust.
Kosovo: UN envoy strongly condemns
attacks in Pristina
4 July 2005 – The senior United Nations
envoy to Kosovo has strongly condemned three attacks carried out
Saturday evening in downtown Pristina, while expressing relief
at the fact that no one was injured by the explosions.
“Such actions, which
I know are not supported by the people of Kosovo, will not be
allowed to damage the democratic process,” Søren
Jessen-Petersen said in a statement released on Sunday.
He stressed that violence would
not diminish the UN's support for the Provisional Institutions
of Self-Government. The citizens of Kosovo, he said, will persist
“in their strong efforts to build a peaceful, democratic
and multi-ethnic” society.
One of the explosions caused
damage to three UN vehicles, while another occurred at a commercial
building opposite the offices of the Organisation for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The third caused minor damage
to a Government building.
The envoy expressed his
appreciation to the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK)
Police and the Kosovo Police Service for their prompt response
to the attacks. As investigations are being carried out, he appealed
to the public to come forward with information to assist in efforts
in bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Top
of page
